1. Field of the Invention
The present invention lies in the field of waste drain connections for independently-supported plumbing fixtures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Waste drain connections for plumbing fixtures in the prior art are generally installable and removable from the exposed plumbing fixture or user side. However, it is only with great expense and difficulty that such waste drain connections are rendered vandal-proof. To be vandal-proof, the connection cannot be removable or tampered with from the user-exposed side of the plumbing fixture.
Such a feature as being vandal-proof is a highly desirable commercial feature, especially when applied to such plumbing fixtures as are installed and used in public institutions, such as jails or prisons.
Additionally, such waste drain connections are frequently constructed as a part of a carrier and adapter assembly, wherein the waste connection provides a carrier for structurally supporting a plumbing fixture, and to adapt the drain outlet of the plumbing fixture to the soil stack which receives the waste from the waste outlet of the plumbing fixture. In such a carrier and adapter assembly, the waste connection is utilized as an essential element for structurally supporting the plumbing fixture.
Examples which serve to illustrate these characteristics of the prior art are illustrated and clearly disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,795,798, 3,020,565 and 3,540,065.
In reviewing such examples, it may be readily seen that such assemblies are relatively complex, expensive to construct and require a relatively lengthy period of time to install. Again, such assemblies are installable and removable in a commercially-convenient manner solely from the exposed or user side of the plumbing fixture.
Due to the fact that many of such assemblies in the prior art possess or use threaded studs which parallel the length of the pipe connection in the adapter assemblies and are laterally spaced therefrom, a larger hole must be created in the wall or partition through which the connection must pass.
In addition, the plumbing fixture must generally be removed before such waste connections are accessible for periodic maintenance, adjustment, or replacement.
When such prior art devices are used to mate with and compress a fluid-sealing gasket disposed between the plumbing fixture drain outlet, the compression force and alignment adjustment oftentimes can only be accomplished from the user or exposed side of the plumbing fixture. Such accessibility is undesirable when plumbing fixtures are used in various public or penal institutional facilities.